Welcome to FastTrack Schedule's "Getting Started Demo." We have received a number of requests for a brief on-screen guide* through the initial start-up process of creating a schedule, and have included the following tutorial to offer that information. This is meant to be an on-screen tutorial to use as you learn to create your own schedules.
Please take about 10 minutes to experiment with the tutorial. Keep in mind that the manuals that accompany the program offer a complete guide to the many features that enable you to create, edit and enhance your schedules.
Five example schedules have been included on this disk to show how schedules can be enhanced with graphics, text blocks, customized bar and milestone types, labels, and dates. Look over these schedules to see the great versatility of the FastTrack Schedule program.
FastTrack Schedule™ allows you to quickly and easily create and update Gantt Chart Schedules. It offers a behind-the-scenes database that actually keeps track of the dates that your activity bars represent. If you wish to change your schedule from a format of weeks to months, the program will scale all of your activities to the new format. You may also transfer data back and forth between other programs as ASCII Text making FastTrack Schedule a Gantt Chart Generator for other programs, like MacProject ™, or a front-end to other programs. It also includes an outline-type level structure to show major phases versus sub-activities.
* You should be familiar with the basic operations of the Apple® Macintosh® computer. You should know how to use windows, scroll bars and pull down menus and be able to cut, copy and paste text edit selections or graphics. If you need to learn these basics, see the Macintosh manual that came with your system.
To illustrate how easy it is to create presentation quality schedules, work through the following steps.
Step 1: Double click the FastTrack Schedule icon.
Step 2: After the program has loaded, Select New Schedule … from the File Menu.
A schedule will appear with a format in weeks, starting with the previous month. Of course, at any time, you can change the scale units, the range of the schedule and other information associated with the overall schedule.
To do this, Select Schedule Data … from the Options Menu to change any of these parameters.
In this demo, a generic schedule will be created that includes major phases (Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3) with sub-activities (Activity 1, Activity 2, and Activity 3), and formatted Start and Finish Date columns.
Step 3: Add two additional columns by holding down the Option Key and clicking twice to the right of the Activities column.
Additional columns will be added wherever you click.
Step 4: Format these columns as Start and Finish Date columns by double clicking in the column heading.
You will be presented with a Column Data window that allows you to format the columns.
Step 5: Enter text in the Activities column: Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3.
Step 6: To draw bars for these Phases, you will need the Tool Box. Use Command T to open the Tool Box or select it from the Options Menu.
Choose the drawing tool and the bar you would like to appear.
Draw bars of approximately 4 weeks next to all three activities. You will be setting guidelines for each phase's duration.
Typically, these phases would be made up of sub-activities, so insert spaces for the next level of activities. Hold down the Option Key and click to insert spaces.
Insert three spaces under Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3.
Step 7: Tab over to create a second level. Enter Activity 1, Activity 2, and Activity 3.
Step 8: Using the guidelines set, estimate approximately how much time is needed for the completion of each activity. Draw 3 bars that will fit between the start and finish of the first phase bar.
Step 9: To save time, copy all of the sub-activities and insert them beneath the remaining phases. Hold down the Command Key and drag the cursor down the activity column until all three activities are selected.
Use Command C to Copy the rows. Select the 3 spaces beneath Phase 2 and paste the copy. Do the same with the 3 spaces beneath Phase 3.
Step 10: Next, create a temporary link between the three activities in both Phase 2 and Phase 3 and adjust the bars to fit into the Phase time constraints.
To do this, select the Arrow Tool and drag a box around the three activity bars.
Drag the top bar to the right until its start point is directly below the phase start point.
All three bars will automatically shift to the new position.
Do the same thing for the Activities in Phase 3.
Now delete the guideline bars for the major phases. Use the Arrow Tool to select the bars and delete with the Backspace or Delete Key.
At times you may only want to look at the major phases of your schedule. FastTrack Schedule allows you to collapse sub-level activities so that you may view only the higher level information.
Step 11: To collapse an activity, place the cursor to the right of the activity column and click.
The sub-level activities will be hidden from view.
To view the sub-level activities again, place the cursor in the same position and click.
Step 12: You may add labels to some of the activities to enhance your schedule. Select the Text Tool from the Tool Box.
Click in the first activity row to create a text block.
Type in "Concepts" in the text block.
Select the Arrow Tool from the Tool Box, click on the block you just created and size (by grabbing the lower right handle) until the block is a good size.
Step 13: A status report can also be placed within the schedule. Place the cursor at one of the activity grid lines. The cursor will change to allow you to expand the grid line.
Drag one of the activity cell grids down to expand the activity area.
Select the Text Tool, click in the activity area to create a text block and Type in "Meeting with Graphics Dept to discuss additions to design."
Drag and resize the box to place it within the activity area. Hold down the Caps Lock Key to move it to the schedule area or back to the activity area.
The text block can be enhanced with borders and shadows. To do this, you would go to Item Border under the Options Menu.
Step 14: A schedule can also be enhanced with graphics. Open the Scrapbook, select any graphic and copy it. Go back into FastTrack Schedule and paste the graphic on the schedule.
Step 15: You may also design your own bar and milestone types to create different effects. Double click on an empty bar cell in the Tool Box.
The Bar Setup window will appear. The Bar Setup window is where you can define all aspects of each bar or milestone type.
Select the Start Point area. Choose an existing point type; fill the point with color and/or a pattern. Repeat with the End Point and the bar if desired. Clicking OK will automatically include the new bar type in the Tool Box.
You can change any of the bar types on your schedule by selecting the bars and clicking on a new bar type. In the following example, two of the bar types were changed in the demo schedule.
You can also customize bar and milestone types. In addition, you can choose to have the date displayed on the bars or milestones. See examples of various bars and milestones in the Example Schedules included on this demo disk.
Now that you have created a schedule, you have the ability to view it in a number of different ways. For instance, if you want to see this project schedule in months vs. weeks, you can easily change the scale.
Step 16: To change the scale, select Schedule Data … from the File Menu and click Months. Click OK to return to the schedule.
You can stretch out the scales and the bars automatically conform to the new scale. Place the cursor over the second vertical grid within the top date scale until the cursor changes to a cross hair with arrows pointing to the left and right.
Drag the cursor to make the scale larger or smaller—in this case, drag to make the scale larger.
Step 17: FastTrack Schedule also offers an extensive Page Preview. Select Preview … from the File Menu.
Page Preview not only lets you see what your schedule will look like on paper, it is actually a second layer that allows you to place titles, notes, graphics, page numbers and dates.
Select the Text Tool and click to create a text block in the in the upper right hand corner.
Type "My Project Schedule". You can change the font, style, and size. Zoom out by holding down the Command Key and clicking.
Step 18: In the Page Options window, the schedule can be arranged in different ways. For instance, you have the option of deleting the unused grids at the bottom of your schedule.
Select Page Options … from the File Menu and deselect "Fill Page."
Page Preview will show the schedule as it then appears.
From the Page Options window, you can also:
• Manipulate margins and alignment.
• Change between standard and wall chart layout
• Choose a variety of additional options such as:
–Print back to front
–Scales on every page
–Break page at activities
–Activities on every page
–Break page at columns
You can use the extra space on the page to add additional text information or graphics to the schedule. For example, you may wish to add notes concerning the project or additional graphics to enhance the schedule.
In summary, FastTrack Schedule's flexibility gives you the power to take project activities and organize them in multiple levels, design custom bar and milestones, place labels and text where appropriate and enhance presentation further by adding a second layer for titles, graphics, and status reports!
Thank you for ordering the FastTrack Schedule Demo Disk. We hope you will enjoy using it. If you have any questions or wish to purchase the program, call (703) 450-1980 or (800) 346-9413. Again, we hope you enjoy the program.
